Interviews

Throwing some light on PSP puzzler Fading Shadows

We roll up for a chat with Victoria Trofimova

Throwing some light on PSP puzzler Fading Shadows
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PSP
| Fading Shadows

Can you name more than two great original puzzle games for PSP?

Don't worry, game developers precisely the same problem, indeed the folk at Ivolgamus Studios couldn't offer anything beyond Mercury and LocoRoco. Unlike the rest of us however, they are in a position to do something about it, by publishing a brand new title of their own in the form of PSP exclusive puzzler Fading Shadows.

Can the game really make its way into the classics cannon and what's so innovative about a puzzle game based on guiding a ball around a maze? We caught up Victoria Trofimova, MD of the Lithuanian company (pictured) to find out.

Pocket Gamer: Can you give us some background on Ivolgamus?

Victoria Trofimova: We've been a developer for about five years, working for a variety of big American publishers across various platforms. Last year we decided that we wanted to make a few games that we really liked and so decided to launch our own publishing business.

Good stuff. Fading Shadows is your second self-published title (after children's adventure Falling Stars). Tell us about it...

It's a PSP exclusive title aimed at the hardcore 18-30 male PSP audience with a brand new original gameplay mechanic. As a player you control a beam of light that moves around the screen in order to direct an orb across a variety of levels and through various puzzles.

Rather than directly moving the orb or pointing where the orb should move to, the beam effectively attracts the orb to it as with a magnetic or gravitational force. The more narrow and focused the beam, the more powerful the attraction on the orb but also the greater chance of damaging the orb. The wider the beam the less focused and powerful the pull but also the less chance of doing damage.

The beam is potentially harmful?

Yes, although this does depend on the state that the orb is in. There are essentially three states with different qualities, which you can interchange between at various points during the game via a transformer.

Glass is the default state in which you start the game, . As you can imagine this is susceptible to damage from large falls and bangs and can also get burnt by the beam if it is too focused.

Metal is the heaviest state. It doesn't get damaged by the beam and can also be made to jump by heating the orb with the beam. However it will rust if in water and may prove too heavy to pass certain obstacles.

The final state is wood, which is the lightest and doesn't rust in water, but suffice to say it can get burnt most easily by the beam.

Were you inspired by any particular games from the past such as Marble Madness?

Well we wanted to do an original game for PSP. We worked on ideas and this is one we really liked. In terms of inspiration, it wasn't actually Marble Madness, but rather part Mercury and part Ico.

Ico?

The story was inspired by Ico. We're big fans and played it throughout the office for several weeks. We even got to the stage where some people were playing and others just watching. It's one of the most amazing games and certainly the most romantic game I've ever played.

Is story is important in Fading Shadows then?

You can ignore it, but it's definitely something extra, like a break from gaming and offers something that isn't in many puzzle games. We've actually built special objects into the game which if you discover them will reveal extra pictures relating to the story. There aren't words though, we've been very careful to limit the amount of text during the game.

What about tips and help?

There's not very much of that either. We discussed it with Sony and asked ourselves, 'Who really reads text?' People don't want/have time to read through text and it disrupts the game. We prefer to build tips and clues into the game environment, although if you do get stuck repeatedly in one place then a tip may flash up to help you get out of there.

How does game's multiplayer work?

Essentially it's a competitive game. Your beam has no impact on other player's orb. Who completes the level first, wins and gets a point. The goal is best of five. Originally we tried it with your beam having the ability to affect other orb and the physics worked well, but we found that the gameplay experience just didn't work - it was too confusing and difficult for most players. Oh, and I should add that the levels are completely different to the single player ones.

Why do you think Fading Shadows will work on PSP?

We actually started thinking about this game when PSP came out and as a company we were more into PSP than DS, as PSP is the machine for hardcore gamers. We also wanted to make something accessible though and the puzzle genre seemed right, provided we could do something new and original.

Why the decision to develop just for PSP though?

If you want to make a good game for PSP I think it has to be designed just for that format, so you can focus on the controls and the powers of the system. We have the technology for multi-platform development, but by focusing on just one format, we can make the most of that format.

We also liked the PSP because it was quite high tech. There's a lot more power and a lot more you can do with it, I guess it captured our imaginations at launch. Having said that we're not only tied to PSP. In May, we're coming out with a DS-only casual game and there's another PSP and Wii title later in the year, but it's a little too soon to talk about those!

So you're a fan of portable gaming formats then?

I work long hours and handheld gaming is only thing I do in my spare time. I don't have time to invest sitting at home, playing on a console - it's been a while since I could play like that. Now it's playing on the tube.

Our thanks to Victoria Trofimova for her time. Fading Shadows is due out sometime in February.
Chris James
Chris James
A footy game fanatic and experienced editor of numerous computing and game titles, bossman Chris is up for anything – including running Steel Media (the madman).